SEPTEMBER 2022 - AudioFile
Frankie Corzo narrates a legendary hacker’s attempt to prevent war from breaking out between two galaxy-spanning empires. Kee Illdez has many claims to fame, including military service and bounty hunting. Now she suspects that a former soldier has enacted plans to rekindle the war between humans and the Valovian Empire, and she sets out to stop him. Corzo imbues this romantic space opera with enjoyable pathos. The core pairing is an enemy-to-friends romance that will draw listeners in as the characters are brought to life through Corzo’s narration. This is a strong addition to the series and an enjoyable listen for newcomers—it’s got a slow-burn romance, thrilling action, and deep world-building. J.M.M. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine
Publishers Weekly
04/25/2022
Crewmembers of the Starlight’s Shadow again race to prevent war between galactic superpowers in Mihalik’s thrilling sequel to Hunt the Stars. All bounty hunter Kee Ildez wants is three weeks leave on the Bastion space station to clear her head, away from the source of her muddled feelings: fellow crew member Varro Runkow. The Valovian weapons specialist has been unresponsive to her attempts at flirting, and it’s beginning to affect Kee’s ability to work. Meanwhile, her search for nefarious Commodore Frank Morten, of the Federation of Human Planets, or FHP, has proven fruitless, and she hopes Bastion will provide access to more information. It’s not long, however, before Kee discovers that Varro has followed her to the station. The tension between them is one more thing for Kee to worry about, on top of hacking the FHP servers and monitoring the tenuous collaboration between Valovian and human fashion designers. When disaster strikes the fashion show, with Kee and Varro attending, it thrusts them to the center of a larger plot that threatens the delicate peace. They’ll need to work together to save the day. Mihalik again does a fantastic job balancing space opera action and slow-burning romance. This keeps the series going strong. Agent: Sarah Younger, Nancy Yost Literary. (July)
From the Publisher
Book two of Mihalik’s trilogy sets the stage for an intense and exciting conclusion to her romantic interstellar adventure.” — Booklist
“Fans of Nalini Singh will swoon for this stoic psychic space warrior hero, and fall in love with a badass mercenary captain heroine who will go to any lengths to protect her wounded-squad-turned-found-family. Compelling, steamy, and impossible to put down—Mihalik has created a world I want to visit again and again for years to come. Give me more sexy hot psychic space aliens!” — New York Times Bestselling Author Kit Rocha
“An intoxicating journey through the galaxy.” — Entertainment Weekly on Polaris Rising
“Polaris Rising is space opera at its best, intense and addictive, a story of honor, courage, betrayal, and love. Jessie Mihalik is an author to watch.” — Ilona Andrews, #1 New York Times bestelling author
“Heart-pounding futuristic action and scorching chemistry make Polaris Rising a thrilling ride. A gripping and sexy space adventure!” — Amanda Bouchet, USA Today bestselling author of The Kingmaker Chronicles
“I loved everything about this story...when I finished and the story left me craving more of this world and characters. Highly recommend!”
— Jeffe Kennedy, RITA Award winning author, on Polaris Rising
New York Times Bestselling Author Kit Rocha
Fans of Nalini Singh will swoon for this stoic psychic space warrior hero, and fall in love with a badass mercenary captain heroine who will go to any lengths to protect her wounded-squad-turned-found-family. Compelling, steamy, and impossible to put down—Mihalik has created a world I want to visit again and again for years to come. Give me more sexy hot psychic space aliens!
Entertainment Weekly on Polaris Rising
An intoxicating journey through the galaxy.
Amanda Bouchet
Heart-pounding futuristic action and scorching chemistry make Polaris Rising a thrilling ride. A gripping and sexy space adventure!
Jeffe Kennedy
I loved everything about this story...when I finished and the story left me craving more of this world and characters. Highly recommend!
Ilona Andrews
Polaris Rising is space opera at its best, intense and addictive, a story of honor, courage, betrayal, and love. Jessie Mihalik is an author to watch.
Library Journal
06/01/2022
Mihalik's follow-up to Hunt the Stars is a delightful science fiction romance filled with high stakes for hearts and lives. This installment stars Kee Ildez; if information is available, she can find it. However the search for a former military commander is turning up nothing, while the galaxy's two main powers seem poised to start another devastating war. Kee decides the best way to find secret information is to tap into the data at the space station Bastion, under the guise of taking a little break from her bounty hunter exploits. It is also a good chance to cool her feelings for Varro, the weapons expert who makes her feel on fire. When Kee's "vacation" begins to unravel thanks to a surprise fashion show, secret plots, and the unexpected arrival of Varro, the two will have to find a way to work together to save thousands of lives—and maybe figure out their relationship along the way. VERDICT A space opera setting, an antagonistic friends-to-lovers romance, and fast-paced action bring some new plot points and nicely set up the last of Mihalik's trilogy.—Kristi Chadwick
SEPTEMBER 2022 - AudioFile
Frankie Corzo narrates a legendary hacker’s attempt to prevent war from breaking out between two galaxy-spanning empires. Kee Illdez has many claims to fame, including military service and bounty hunting. Now she suspects that a former soldier has enacted plans to rekindle the war between humans and the Valovian Empire, and she sets out to stop him. Corzo imbues this romantic space opera with enjoyable pathos. The core pairing is an enemy-to-friends romance that will draw listeners in as the characters are brought to life through Corzo’s narration. This is a strong addition to the series and an enjoyable listen for newcomers—it’s got a slow-burn romance, thrilling action, and deep world-building. J.M.M. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
2022-05-11
A hacker is determined to stop a person trying to incite war between two galactic empires.
Kee Ildez is a legendary hacker and an integral part of the crew of the spaceship Starlight’s Shadow. The crew's human ex-soldiers served together in the war against the Valoffs and now work across the galaxy as bounty hunters. Kee has one goal: Find Commodore Frank Morten, the man who betrayed them during the war, and bring him to justice. She suspects Morten is trying to rekindle war between the Federated Human Planets and the Valovian Empire by staging an incident on Bastion, a remote space station. Kee arranges to leave the Starlight’s Shadow crew behind for a few weeks to run a solo investigation on Bastion—which will also give her a much-needed break from Varro Runkow, a Valovian munitions expert and telekinetic who recently joined the group. Kee is wildly attracted to Varro, but he has made it clear there can be no future between them. When Varro discovers she’s alone on Bastion, he leaves the ship, determined to protect her. As Kee and Varro hack into Bastion’s systems, they conclude that Morten might cause trouble at a high-profile fashion exhibition featuring human and Valovian designers. Kee and Varro’s adventures on the space station are full of action and intrigue. They make a good team, but their romance is underdeveloped and more of an afterthought than a well-integrated part of the plot. Of note: Kee’s staunch defense of why she continues to fight evil, even against what seems like impossible odds, is clearly meant to bolster readers who might feel overwhelmed in the face of Earth’s many problems. It’s a cogent reminder of why readers are drawn to speculative fiction in the first place.
A romance-light space adventure that still has plenty to please readers.
